One Bullet
by IEezAsian
Summary: A young boy knows nothing of his past, but when a mysterious man tells him everything, he vows vengeance upon everyone who wronged his family. Rated T for mild language. Read and review!
1. A Dragon's Last Scream

**Author's Note: Hey FanFic readers!**

**The story you are about to read is my first. Don't go trolling on me!  
Read and Review please! Enjoy!**

**Btw, I don't own Maplestory and legal crap...**

**Second Author's Note: Revised! BOOM!**

* * *

"You need to leave! NOW!"

Cradling a baby boy in her arms, the mother ran. The man stayed behind as the final wave of Wyverns invaded his village. He didn't care if he died. He just wanted his death to not be in vain. He just wanted her to be safe. Swinging his Golden Dragon with a golden aura surrounding the blade, he swung, pushing back a line of Wyverns. However, they still would not back down. They fought a bitter fight. Eventually, his body was drained of energy. He knew he was going to fall, and the Wyverns seemed to know it too. As the monsters overwhelmed him, he clenched his fist and uttered his final spell.

"Dragon Roar."

The aura swirled into the air and suddenly crackled with energy. The Wyverns stopped and roared at the disturbance. It crackled some more. Then, it burst.

The outburst of energy sound waves spread through the fields, killing most of the Wyverns from the inside, bleeding from their eyes and ears. He staggered forward, leaning on his polearm for support. He looked up to find a black figure holding a sword to his head.

"Nice fighting. However, your resistance will not impede with my mission. Do you want to know what I'll do with your wife, you Aegis scum?"

The man spat blood at his shoe.

"Go to hell."

The black figure scowled and kicked him in the face. He landed backwards and held his jaw. The cold blade of the sword touched his chest.

"These Lionheart Boots weren't easy to find, you piece of crap. You know what? I'll tell you what I'll do to her. I'll bring your dead body in her face when she dies. I'll slit her throat and you both can die together. Sound nice?"

The man yelled and charged at the dark figure, the scraping of metal against metal rang throughout the mountain.

"Dragon Blood! Dragon Buster!" the Dragon Knight yelled.

"Combo Attack! Brandish!" the Crusader bellowed.

The Crusader rushed to his opponent and slashed two times, with his sword covered with dark mana. The Dragon Knight parried the two blows and attempted to stab the Crusader, thrusting his spear three times. All three times fatally missed and the Crusader, finding the moment a giant opportunity, slashed the Knight.

The Dragon Knight knelt down on his polearm, clutching his chest, holding a locket to his chest.

"I love you, Isabella." he whispered.

The figure raised his sword.

The dark Crusader grinned in the moonlight.

"Goodbye, Phoenix."

The Crusader brought it down upon his head.

* * *

She ran with all her strength, trying to keep the baby hushed. It insisted on crying until he was fed. Giving him a piece of bread, the woman hid in a cave of the mountain.

She slid on the side of the rock and sat there. She let the tears run down her eyes and soak up on her shirt. Suddenly, she heard harsh breathing, panting outside of the cave opening. She stood up, firmly took hold of her Dragon Tail and took off running into the snow of El Nath.

"Haste!"

The dragons immediately noticed and flew after her, breathing fireballs and melting the cold winter ice. The woman's bare foot hurt in the bitter snow and she could hardly feel the ground. A stray pebble led to her downfall.

She tripped.

She fell on her back, with the baby clutched in her arms, the dagger pierced in her heart, killing her instantly. And that's how she died.

But a different story awaited the young boy.

For you could not hear the quiet sobs of the baby in the deep snows of El Nath.


	2. A Ray of Light

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the reviews guys!

It's really inspired me to write.  
Well, here is the second chapter of my story.  
Enjoy!

**Second Author's Note: I revised the story, adding a SLIGHT action to this art of the story. **

* * *

They say he was cursed by a swordsman.

On the night of his family's downfall, that tall figure walked over to the baby, feeling the energy emanating from the small child. He shoved the Devil's Sunrise back into its sheath. It was a giant sword, but he wielded it as if it were a wooden stick.

He took the baby in its cloth wrapping and touched the center of the child's forehead with his sharp fingers. Little by little, the bright aura from his head slowly seeped out and infused with the dark aura of the swordsman. Suddenly, the swordsman felt younger, almost as if he had been struck by lightning.

"Hey, you! What are you doing!"

The swordsman whipped around. He came face to face with a Bishop, greeting him with a harsh tone. The swordsman scowled and dropped the baby. The small child hit the ground forcefully, releasing a loud wail.

"How dare you talk to a Commander like that! I may do whatever I'd like!"

The bishop clenched her fist and muttered under her breath one word.

"Genesis."

The dark skies allowed an opening above his draconic army and an angel came down and became to recite the holy words of God. Energy beams instantly blasted down upon the evil army. The swordsman fell to the ground from the shaking and erupting of the light. Many of the dragons were instantly vaporized and the ashes blew away in the wind.

When the attack had receded, the angry bishop glared at the so-called "Commander".

"Do not play around with the creations of God." She seethed.

The Commander backed away and said one word.

"Panic!"

He swung his sword at the Bishop.

"Magic Guard! Angel Ray!" she roared.

An invisible bubble blocked the enraged swordsman's attack. A bow appeared from her staff and released an arrow of holy light.

The arrow hit the swordsman directly in the chest.

The swordsman flew back into the soft snow. He coughed up crimson onto the white powdery blanket and said weakly "Retreat!"

When his army had retreated, she ran over to the young baby, still crying from the loud noise the rays had brought. She soothed him by creating bubbles with the powers of Heal. The green mystical bubbles floated onto the child and healed his heart.

But not his body.

The hands of darkness claimed his left eye and only left a red glowing pupil in the center. The white was completely gone.

The bishop did not care of this abnormality. She cradled him under her arms and shuffled through the snow, carrying the child back to her cottage.

After calming the boy down and making him go back to sleep, the bishop collapsed on her bed. She had not used Genesis for a very long time. She had also never felt such dark, powerful energy. It made her wonder if he had come back…

_No, of course not… it's impossible…_

She reassured herself by making herself a cup of tea. She poured a small bit of mana potion into the golden colored tea. It was soothing and gave her warmth again. It gave her time to think about the child. Where had he come from? Who was that swordsman?

_What am I going to do with you...?_


	3. The Brawler

**Author's Note: OMFG NEW CHARACTER! **

**YES! **

* * *

The young boy felt the hay through his fingers. He had grown to love this spot. He did not know why, or how, but he just loved it here.

He was known as Alec.

He got this name from the bishop. She always told him that he was a smart aleck, always trying to say witty things to get out of trouble. Eventually, she just named him "Alec" for short.

He treated the bishop as if she was his own mother. The bishop had told him that he was adopted many years ago. Somehow, that news didn't really affect him at all. He was still just a regular 11 year old boy. What the bishop didn't explain was what happened to his mother and father. Whenever he asked that question, he was bombarded with a long list of chores to be done and to not talk of the subject again. He didn't really think this was anything, but he was just curious.

He also asked a few questions about his eye. It was completely blood red and it looked as if he couldn't see. In reality, he couldn't see from the eye. It was just a dark nothingness he saw in that eye. But sometimes, it would flash and he felt dizzy, his heart burning. The bishop often times came running and created bubbles of Heal and it floated to Alec and he felt much better, the burning in his heart would recede and he would feel back to life again. He wondered why it would happen...

"Flash Fist! Somersault Kick!"

He was shook out of his thoughts and found a young blond boy, much taller than he, and about a little older, letting loose a bunch of punches and kicks. Alec was amazed by the ferocity of these attacks. After he was done, the blond boy nimbly jumped down from the ledge to the bottom floor. He was just about to transport through the portal when he felt a hand tapping his shoulder. The blond boy looked behind him and found a dark-haired kid looking at him with amazement.

"When you were up there, you were amazing!" Alec exclaimed

"Thanks. I saw you down there, looking at me." The blond boy replied.

Alec blushed with embarrassment. It WAS pretty awkward to stare at a stranger, and this stranger was way more powerful.

"So, who did you ask to train you and become a…" Alec suddenly stopped.

He didn't know the name of his class.

"Brawler."

"Right. Brawler. Who did you go to train with?" Alec was impatient, for he also wanted to learn these moves.

"Go to the Nautilus," he said, "and look for a captain named Kyrin."

"Okay, thanks! What's your name?"

"Joseph Challen. Look for me when you advance, okay?"

Alec was very touched by the brawler's kindness. He instantly took back those feeling when Joseph said the next few words.

"You're going to have to pay me for this info." Joseph said, chuckling, as he left. Alec, blinking, thought that he didn't hear right.


	4. A Promise

**Author's Note: Alec finally did it! **

**What job do you think he'll choose? (The title kinda gives it away)**

**Second Author's Note: I also revised this chapter. More action (maybe...)!**

* * *

"Three Snails!"

A cracked blue snail shell flew out of Alec's hand and landed on a pig, shattering and knocking the poor thing out. He took the thin skin of the pig and shoved it in his pack. He flinched a bit when the pig blood touched his hand, but he told himself he had to be stronger than being afraid of just a little pig blood. He charged forward and slashed the neighboring mushroom and collected the mushroom cap. Suddenly, bright light appeared at his feet and a surge of power alerted Alec that he had finally made it to the next level. Alec excitedly took out his Beginner's Skillbook and touched the Nimble Feet picture with his hand. A glowing light wrapped around his wrist and was absorbed into his skin. A flood of new knowledge flowed through his mind.

"Okay, Nimble Feet, just follow the picture in the book… and… I got it!"

His legs felt fresh again, boosting his speed by a lot. He dashed through the field, throwing his snail shells and waving his sword.

_I promise, I'll get to my job advancement!_

He said this mentally, with conviction, and swung the sword even harder.

He was going to make it. He promised.

* * *

"Ah, Joseph! How nice to see that you have grown!"

A woman, no older than her twenties, stood upon the steps that led into the giant Nautilus.

"Thank you, Kyrin. It's very nice to see you too." Joseph replied, wiping the blood off his knucklers, which had spent most of it's time smashing pigs to the ground.

Kyrin brushed away her amber hair, covering her olive colored eyes. Her eyes seemed to be strong, but gentle at the same time. She slowly strolled over to him and handed him a set of knuckles. Joseph looked back in surprise of her gift. It was a set of Normans Grips, the ones he had been saving mesos for. He had almost enough mesos for them. He did not know why she had become so generous. Kyrin chuckled, and seem to feel his uneasiness.

"I'm giving this to you because you are one of my best pupils. I have never had anyone so diligent, knowledgeable, and compassionate. You deserve this." She said, with a smile.

Joseph quickly bowed several times and gladly took the knucklers and put them in a safe place. He then bowed another several times and left, humming a tune.

Kyrin slowly walked back to the front of the ship, and looked out the window.

"The gifts will fail him at the time of need."

Kyrin whipped around and was face to face with a mysterious person.

"Who are you! And how did you get past the guards outside?" she exclaimed.

"That is not important. The man who offers you gifts cannot be trusted." The figure simply said. "It will fail him in the time of need."

"But-... how did you-..." Kyrin stuttered.

Suddenly, like a bad recording, he vanished, leaving no evidence he was ever there. Kyrin looked around frantically. Who could have gotten past the guards? No one ever did…

* * *

_Come on… come on…_

Alec threw his last snail shell, flying into one of the mushrooms with a satisfying _crack_!

A bright light appeared and another, final surge of power came from the ground.

He had finally reached the right skill level after so many days and weeks of training and training. He quickly chugged down an orange potion and gagged. Even after drinking his 50th bottle, he still couldn't adjust to that bittersweet taste. The potion looked surprisingly creamy and smooth like a smoothie, but when it made its way down his throat, sharp bitterness stabbed at his tongue.

He looked in his spellbook once more and touched Nimble Feet again, giving him new knowledge. He was so excited that even without Nimble Feet, he ran faster than anyone had ran before. He charged past a few teenagers, old ladies, and victorious warriors to make his way to the cab.

"One way trip to the ship please."

The cab driver nodded politely and pointed to the back. Alec pulled the handle of the door and jumped into the taxi. He closed the door and they were off to the infamous pirate ship.

The Nautilus.

* * *

I'm sorry for such an abrupt ending. I just couldn't think of any more ideas to write down.

Another one of my infamous writer's block.

Wish me luck... =)


	5. The Advancement

_**Author's Note: Yay! I finally hit the thousand word mark! Woohoo!**_

_**Btw, I edited the earlier chapters, so check it out! It seems better...**_

* * *

_I'm finally here! The Nautilus…_

Alec practically drooled when he saw the humongous ship. The sight of the shiny aqua marine metal, the clear unbreakable glass, the sharp twirling rotors, oh, how he wanted the ship…!

"Hey. Kid. Are ya going to pay or not?"

He turned around. He noticed how long he had been looking at the Nautilus. Alec bowed profusely, then handed the cab driver a sack of mesos. He didn't notice as he shut the door on his shirt…

* * *

After a deep lecture about shirts and card doors and why he hated driving taxis and ranting about how he never wanted the job, the driver sped off, muttering about stupid teenagers.

Alec brushed off the dirt from his bruised side and limped his way up the stairs. He put his hand on the door when- "What the-! "

Two ghostly images appeared next to the door. They seemed to have been conjured out of thin air. The left one seemed to be a twenty year old man, or ghost, to be exact. He seemed young compared to the ghost on the right. The right one seemed older, more experienced, if you will. He had a rugged look to his face, as if he had ben through numerous fights..

"State your business." They said simultaneously.

Alec was genuinely freaked out. Alec rubbed his eyes again to make sure he saw right.

The guards simply stared at him. The one on the left started to speak.

"I told you we shouldn't have appeared like that, it frightens the mortals!"

"Don't you remember, you dim-witted fly, that you were the one who suggested this?"

"Do not call me a dim-witted fly, you… you…!"

Alec simply stared back.

"See, now you made the mortal mute!"

"The 'state your business' was your idea! I just wanted to say 'how was your day'! But NOOOOO, you just had to seem like a creepy pedophile!"

"Oh, shut up, it's not entirely my fault!"

Suddenly, the iron vault door opened and the infamous ship captain walked out. The two guards immediately straightened themselves out and gave a salute.

Alec did not dare to look at the captain. He knew that if you did not show proper respect, you had no chance of advancing. After a few seconds of silence, a burst of laughter rang out. Alec looked at her feet, which slowly walked in his direction. The clacking of her boots made him nervous and he slowly started to fiddle with a small snail shell in his hand. Whenever he felt nervous, he liked to fiddle with anything he had.

"Come on! Don't be so serious!" the captain chortled.

Alec finally dared to look up. Amber hair and soft olive eyes greeted him. Even though Alec did not really want to admit it, he thought that Kyrin was kinda cute.

"Come into my quarters!" she exclaimed.

The captain strolled into the room. Alec was surprised by the sudden jolliness of the joyful ship captain. He reluctantly followed Kyrin into the Captain's Quarters.

* * *

"I want to be a Brawler. Please, Master." Alec pleaded.

Kyrin just stared.

"A Brawler. You? Really?" Kyrin hesitantly asked.

Alec felt slightly hurt.

"Yeah, why not?" he replied.

"It's just that… you're so… well… weak." she finally forced out.

He looked at himself. To be honest, he also agreed. His arms look like they could be used as ropes. His legs looked like a broken toothpick. His blue shirt looked really baggy on his skinny body.

"Well, that doesn't stop me from being a Brawler, right?" he asked hopefully.

Kyrin rubbed her chin and took a few steps closer. She looked at his legs.

_No, that won't work; he couldn't possibly do a somersault…_

She looked at his arms.

_Arms… to weak. Not enough force exerted to create energy round the fist…_

She took a final look. Then she socked Alec in the stomach.

With a loud grunt, he flew all the way to the iron door and whacked his head real good.

"Well, you just failed one requirement for Brawlers. You must always keep on your feet. Never take your eyes off the opponent. Besides, that was a light punch!" She said, with a smug grin.

Alec's mouth dropped open as he rubbed the bump the size of a baseball on his head.

"That was_ LIGHT?_" he yelled.

Kyrin chuckled. He was loud one, just like Hawkeye.

Alec quickly got himself up. He had already been hurt twice today and he was most certainly not going to get hurt again. He cautiously moved toward Kyrin.

"Then what choice do I have?" he said.

"Well, I'd suggest you become a thief."

Alec's mouth opened a second time. A thief? Him? He didn't want to live off of trash and spare change. He wanted to be proud and show the world what he was made of!

"I don't want to be a thief. I am a pirate. I can just feel it inside of me." He said, determined.

"Good, you passed your first test." She said.

Alec eyed her suspiciously. That was it?

"Now, I suggest you become a gunslinger. Your… stature… would not allow you to become a Brawler."

She walked into a dark storage room. Alec took this time to rub his painful head, side, and stomach. Hesitantly, he took out another one of a bitter orange potion. The Bishop had been nice enough to buy him a few of these. He choked it down, almost throwing up in the process. He couldn't wait to buy a soda pop later.

Kyrin came out holding two objects.

Alec immediately recognized these two objects. One was a knuckler, something he had seen Joseph use, smashing monsters to the ground. Another was a small pistol, looking relatively weak compared to the two iron monsters.

"Try them on," Kyrin offered, "and see how you feel."

Alec grabbed the knucklers. He slowly slid them on as if they were the most precious things in the universe. The cold metal brushed past his skin. He smiled… then slowly frowned.

'I can't move my hand." He simply said.

Kyrin smiled and offered him a pistol. He eyed it with suspicion. He heard from many people that a pistol had far range, and fastest attacking speed, but one of the worst damages. Alec slowly reached over and put his forefinger in the trigger hold.

He was shocked.

The pistol seemed to conform to his hand. The slender, wooden grip just felt right in his palm. He brushed his fingers cross the cold, hard steel of the barrel and it felt absolutely incredible. The Bishop had tried to make him hold knives, wield swords, pull a bowstring, and wave a wand, but none of those weapons had ever felt like the way this pistol did.

"It feels… wonderful." He said in awe.

Kyrin simply smiled and said, "The weapon always chooses its master."

Alec smiled. "Alright let's do this! I want to be a pirate!"

"Woah, woah, woah. Not so fast. You're going to have to pass a written exam."

Alec opened his mouth for the final third time today.

"What does a pirate need to write about?" he asked.

* * *

Alec was exhausted. He never knew pirates had to take a written exam...

Kyrin took his hand and said a few undecipherable words. Both their hands started to glow and a giant light appeared under his feet. All of a sudden, a huge flow of knowledge flooded his mind. Images of attacks, methods of using them, and how to combine them with other moves appeared in his brain.

Alec gasped for air. "Thank you Master! I will train hard!"

"I bet you will!" She said joyfully.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

A tall dark figure rose in the shadows of a cave.

"It is time."

A low growl came from within him. It was time to do what he did best.

A Wyvern flew to his side. He petted it slowly, then grabbed it's head and crushed it. Pieces of it's skull and blood fell from his gloved hand.

_Cruelty is the key to power._

"I'm coming for you. _Bishop."_


End file.
